Did you hear about the parrot?

[alfreda89]

Specifically, an African Grey with a vocabulary of 950 words. He appears to have as much understanding as say a toddler, and this should open the eyes of all bird folk -- are you meeting your bird's need to explore, play, and learn?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3430481.stm

Comments

[juliabk.livejournal.com]

I will never forget the episode of Nature about parrots. They called them "toddlers with wings"... a fairly terrifying concept, I might add. *Very* intelligent critters.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I think that's part of the reason I've never seriously thought about getting a parrot. I have cats that are too smart for their own good, or mine. A bird that would climb off its perch, climb the stairs to the second floor, walk into a bathroom and bite a man on the toe because as a child the man teased the bird -- that's way too long a memory for me to cope with!

As you see, I do Burmese.

[juliabk.livejournal.com]

Did I ever tell you my parrot and dog story? A net acquaintance of mine did parrot rescues. She had about 10 parrots of various types, a bunch of other birds, some cats and a couple of boxers. About the only time she didn't spend with the birds was when she took the dogs out for their walks. The dogs apparently appreciated the 'pack' time, as well. The dogs were very sweet, but well, a bit trusting.

Now, one of the macaws had a wicked sense of humor and loved to tease them. One day my friend started noticing the dogs going to the front door and barking like they were getting ready for a walk. She'd come in and tell them how silly they were being and shoo them back away from the door. This would sometimes happen several times a day.

Finally, she started to get a little wise to what was going on. One day, when the dogs started their commotion, she was close to the front door and caught a glimpse of tail feathers exiting into another room. So she set a 'trap'. She hung around that part of the house for the next few hours. Eventually, it paid off. In a kinda reedy imitation of *her* voice, she heard "Babies go out? Babies go for a walk?" The dogs, hearing the magic words, came barreling into the entry way, all excited about going for their walk, and the guilty macaw sitting on the coat rack began to laugh. :-)

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, I believe it. 1minnesotagirl's parrot can do both phone ringers, and sounds just like the "Hello, Moto!" voice on her cell. Paris loves to get her up and checking phones. This story I related was about an old friend of hers. The friend is getting up in years, and it's time to start planning where his bird will go. One son travels too much to take the bird, one doesn't want it, and they're not sure the third is forgiven for being a kid -- his friend certainly wasn't! That parrot knew the friend's voice over ten years later, and exacted his revenge!

[juliabk.livejournal.com]

This is another reason why I would probably never be able to bring myself to own a parrot. I can't see taking on a pet that's going to outlive me and that I'll need to try and provide for after I'm gone. I imagine that when I start approaching my last years, I'll likely not have pets at all, for that reason.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I understand the dilemma -- but having pets appears to make people healthier and live longer. I'm going to put money in the will to take care of the last animal, vet bills and such. I figure I'll want at least a cat for quite a while yet.

[juliabk.livejournal.com]

True. I guess a lot will also depend on where the kid is at the time. If she's in a position at the time to take on any pet I might leave, that might sway me. I think I'll always be feeding and taking care of any strays around me.

Maybe she'll marry a vet (she's already said there's no way she wants to be one ;-). That could make the whole stray matter much easier to do. :-)